Uruguay bank on experience as Saudis cling to World Cup dream
Experience will be the key when Uruguay look to seal their place in the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup against Saudi Arabia here on Wednesday.
Uruguay’s 1-0 win against Egypt in their opening match means beating Saudi Arabia would leave Uruguay with six points and allow them to book their place in the knockout phase as long as Egypt does not beat Russia on Tuesday, reports Xinhua news agency.
Uruguay disappointed against a rugged Egypt side in their first game, needing a late header from Jose Gimenez to seal the win and veteran coach Oscar Tavarez is expected to make changes with Carlos Sanchez and ‘Cebolla’ Rodriguez expected to start.
Rodriguez is an excellent provider, while Sanchez is a box-to-box midfielder with a habit of getting into the rival penalty area at the right time, and the pair should give more punch to a side which struggled to create chances against Egypt as Luis Suarez looked heavy and off the pace.
Saudi Arabia landed here after a frightening journey in which one of the engines on the aircraft which flew them in from Saint Petersburg caught fire.
The Saudi players were strongly criticised for their performance in their 0-5 defeat to Russia in their opening match in the World Cup, with one top official accusing them of making “just 5 percent effort.”
Saudi Arabia enjoyed 60 percent possession against Russia but failed to have a single shot on target and were pulled apart on the break. It remains to be seen whether this was due to ‘stage fright’ caused by meeting the pumped-up hosts (and their fervent fans) in the first game of the tournament, or from a lack of quality and concentration.
Portugal look to continue momentum against lowly Morocco
Smarting after a last-gasp defeat to Iran, Morocco will have to deal with the peerless might of Portugal, spearheaded by Cristiano Ronaldo, who will attempt to follow up his World Cup opening game heroics when the two sides meet for a Group B clash here on Wednesday.
In hot form, Ronaldo will once again look to continue his magic at the Luzhniki Stadium and haul Portugal into the last 16.
Portugal are not widely regarded as one of the contenders despite their unlikely European success two years back.
Portugal were less than impressive against Spain in the first game save Ronaldo who was the difference between the two sides.
A world class free kick two minutes from full time sparked wild celebrations from the former Manchester United marksman and his team.
Coming to Morocco, they did not concede a single goal in the final qualifying round as they sealed a return to the World Cup for the first time in 20 years.
Not expected to make the knockouts, their slim hopes were dented when a 95th-minute own goal by Aziz Bouhaddouz gifted Iran three points.
Herve Renard’s men face a monumental challenge, with games to come against Portugal and Spain.
Further forward, winger Nordin Amrabat has been ruled out of the clash after a clash of heads with Iran’s Vahid Amiri in St Petersburg on Friday.
Morocco will rely on Ajax midfielder Hakim Ziyech, who is the fulcrum of their attacking play.b Amine Harit had a very good game against Iran and he will be optimistic that his creativity will combine well with Ayoub El Kaabi. It will be just the second meeting between the two countries, after Morocco beat Portugal 3-1 in the group stage at the 1986 finals.
Spain eye first win, face Iran
Spain will look to ease pressure on them with their first win of the ongoing FIFA World Cup, while Iran will aim to register their second consecutive triumph in the Group B when the two sides clash here on Wednesday.
Spain tied 3-3 with Portugal on Friday in their first international match under newly-minted head coach Hierro, who took the job just two days before the World Cup after Julen Lopetegui was sacked for announcing he would lead Real Madrid next season.
Spain and Portugal are tied for second in Group B with one point each, while Iran lead the group with three points after beating Morocco 1-0 earlier Friday, thanks to an own goal from Aziz Bouhaddouz.
An Iran win, though improbable on paper, will take them to the Round-of-16, while weakening the 2010 edition winners’ chances of progressing to the next round.
However, it will be yet another big test for Iran. A strong defence is Iran’s main strength. It will be interesting to see whether captain and central defender Jalal Hosseini and right back Steven Beitashour return to the line-up with Roozbeh Cheshmi, Morteza Pouraliganji, Ehsan HajiSafi and Ramin Rezaeian being preferred on Friday.
Masoud Shojaei, Omid Ebrahimi and Vahid Amiri are expected to start in midfield, while the attack will be led by Sardar Azmoun, who plays for Russian club Rubin Kazan. Azmoun will be flanked by Karim Ansarifard of Greek club Olympiacos and AZ Alkmaar’s Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who was Dutch league’s top scorer last season.
They will have to score past the Spanish defence of Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos and Nacho Fernandez will feature in defence. David de Gea, who had a poor perforance against Portugal, is expected to start in goal.
